Salem police say 'suspicious' car was just a dad following son home from school

April 24. 2013 10:13AMSALEM - A suspicious vehicle that reportedly followed a 10-year-old as he walked home from Fisk School earlier this month turned out to be a case of a father keeping an eye on his own child making his way home from school.

Detective Bob Genest, after an investigation that included talking to residents in the area of Fisk School, determined the "suspicious subject/vehicle" belonged to a Sullivan Court man. Police said another resident reported seeing a car matching the description parked at a Sullivan Street address.

The owner, whom police did not identify in a news release, told Genest he occasionally lets his son walk home from school, but follows him from his car.

Genest confirmed the father's story, and the 10-year-old, when shown a photo of the man's car, confirmed it was the vehicle that followed him on April 10.

The boy had left Fisk School around 5 p.m. that day and was walking along Sullivan Street when he noticed he was being followed by a blue car.

The driver did not say anything to him and by the time the child reached his home, it had circled the neighborhood a couple of times, police said at the time.

The boy said a driver of a green van then approached him and told him to make sure he told his mother what happened.